A/N: This, is long overdue, considering I've had an account here since spring, but here it is, my first fic! Hope you like it :)
Note on repost: I'm afraid that I'm a bit of an perfectionist, so I fixed some small details like paragraphs and such…
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It had been a long journey, but finally, Nèniel and her family had reached the shore of the Great Sea. There, at the gates of the Grey Havens, Cìrdan himself greeted them, for it was now rare to see elven children, and this was an opportunity that he didn't want to miss.
Nèniel's little sister giggled loudly when the old elf lifted her high in the air.
"It pleases an old elf's heart to see a smile on such a young face, especially in hard times like this," he said, and let little Alwen tug his beard. This made the little elf giggle even more.
Then Cìrdan turned to the parents, who were smiling at him.
"I welcome you both, but I fear I won't be enjoying your company for long?"
"No, I'm afraid not," said Nèniel's father, "we're here at the same errand as most of our kin. We're leaving."
"Then I won't stand in the way," Cìrdan said, and added with a smile, "some of you are certainly eager to get in." He cast a glance at Nèniel, who was nearly jumping up and down in excitement.
He then put Alwen back in her mother's care, and stepped aside, allowing the family to enter the Havens.
The city itself, with its grey buildings, weren't what amazed Nèniel the most, even though they were as grand as the elves could make it; it was the ships, which first caught her eyes. Even though their colour wasn't of the most eye-catching, they were nothing like she'd ever seen before. The swan-boats of Lòrien were beautiful in their way, but this! She had great difficulties in keeping her eyes from them.
But, in all its splendour, the city (and the ships) had an essence of sadness with them. Nèniel felt it at once, and it mingled with her own sorrow, and made it even greater. She envied Alwen, who was to young to feel the sense of loss that came with the thought of leaving Middle-Earth, the place she'd spent her first 20 years in…
A voice came in, and erupted her thoughts.
"Our ship isn't leaving 'till tomorrow, so we'll have to find a place to spend the night." The voice belonged to her father.
"I doubt that I shall be able to sleep tonight," Nèniel said, "so why don't you search for a place to sleep, so can I go explore?"
This made her father laugh. " You surely remind me of myself," he said, "you go ahead, and we'll meet again here tomorrow. But don't be late! We wouldn't want to leave without you."
"I won't be late!" She smiled, and ran off.
The rest of the day, she spent at the harbour, watching the ships, and the elves that were making them ready for the long travel across the Great Sea. She was even allowed aboard one, which she later discovered was the same ship her family would be leaving in.
But at nightfall, she decided to have a stroll on the shore, and watch the stars of Middle-Earth one last time.
So she walked, singing a few tunes about the sea and the stars, and watching the moon journey across the sky.
It was nearly dawn when she heard it for the first time, the music. Music of a kind she'd never heard before, beautiful as the rays of sunlight a summer morning, and still sad and dark like the fabled deeps of Moria.
She walked in the direction of the music, and soon, she could see where it was coming from. A cloaked figure was sitting near a fire, and in his hands, he was holding a harp, which he was playing. He didn't notice her before she came close enough to see his face, then he slowly lifted his eyes to gaze into hers.
"What do you want?" he demanded, his voice was sad, like one who'd seen too much; as was his eyes.
"Nothing, just to listen to the beautiful music," she answered, "Did you make that?"
"Not that it's important, but yes. And I thank you for the compliment".
"You're welcome".
There came a moment of painful silence, which Nèniel tried eagerly to fill.
"Then you must be a famous composer!"
"I used to be," he answered reluctantly.
"You're not anymore…?"
"No. They're gone, and there's nothing more for us to do than wait."
"They? Us?" Nèniel asked, curiously. There was obviously more to this stranger than what caught the eye.
"Well, I guess it's not us anymore, I'm the only one left".
Nèniel puzzled on this last answer for a while, and then asked, "What are you waiting for?"
"For the world to change, for that that is hidden to be revealed".
"Oh…" Nèniel was now even more confused, but there was something in the back of her head that was stirring, some tale she'd heard a long time ago.
"Then what are they?"
"Have you ever seen a diamond?"
"Um…yes, once, what has that got to do with it?"
"Imagine a diamond, perfectly round, and shining with an inner light."
"Yes…"
"Time that with a hundred, no, wait, a thousand. Then you might get close to what they were."
"You're not talking about the…" No! That was impossible!
"Let's not talk anymore about them, they have disappeared a long time ago," the elf said, "who are you, by the way? Young elves are rarely seen nowadays, for you must certainly be young. Who are your parents?"
"My parents are…wait!" She turned around to watch the sun; it was already high in the sky, "I'm terrible sorry, but I have to leave, I promised to meet them at this time".
"You're going to Aman then? Guessed so. Well, I'd better be going too," he got up and put out the fire.
"It has been nice meeting you," Nèniel said.
"Well, I must say, it has done me good to look upon such a young face," he smiled, and started walking in the opposite direction.
"Wait!" Nèniel called after him, "you never told me your name!"
"My name," he turned with a smile, "is Maglor".
Nèniel opened her mouth, but couldn't get a word out; she just stood there, staring at his back, until it disappeared behind a dune. Then she slowly turned, and made her way back to the Grey Havens…
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So, did you like it? Did you hate it? Please tell.
Disclaimer: Let's just say, if you recognize it, then it's either not mine, or you're having a strange fit of Dèja Vu :) So don't sue me!
